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In any other instance, I would have agreed with her. Any other time, Jeff’s short blonde hair and tight, compact body might have even made my pants dance, but I was in far too much of a frenzied state to bask in his beauty.
“What?” My heart was thumping inside of my chest as I searched the room. Gray wasn’t by the pool tables. Wasn’t on the dance floor. Wasn’t at the bar. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been zoned out before a woman’s voice snapped me from my stupor.
“Can I get you folks anything?” The nameless waitress asked, another half-smoked cigarette dangling from her lips. I was tempted to ask her what the laws were regarding smoking in public establishments, but I let the question die on my tongue. The woman looked like she could crush me with the might of her glare alone.
“Just a scotch and some pretzels,” I said, without looking at her. I lifted my hand, shooing her away with a dismissive flick of the wrist. I hadn’t meant to be rude, but I was on a mission, and the room was smelling too much like gasoline and matchsticks for my liking.
“We don’t have pretzels,” the waitress said, throwing the heaviest of wrenches in my plans.
“What the hell kind of bar is this?” I hissed. Then, realizing I’d just unloaded on a poor waitress who essentially worked for peanuts, I said, “Sorry. I’m really sorry. Just some sort of appetizer. Something—”
“Jesus.” Kate’s eyes widened. Through clenched teeth and a fake smile, she assumed the role of ventriloquist and slurred her words at me. “Act natural. Don’t say a word.”
Panic. That’s what I felt. Pure, unfiltered panic. “Please, Kate. I can’t.”
She nodded, darting her eyes up as footsteps approached. I lifted the menu to cover my face completely, tilting it forward until it touched my forehead.
“Kate!” a woman’s voice called out from behind me. “Oh my gosh, girl, how are you? Look,Bun-bun,it’s Kate and Jeff.”
Then, for the first time in twenty years, I heard him.
“Hey guys, fancy seeing you two here.”
God. That voice.
He sounded exactly the same.
“Fancy seeingyouhere. I didn’t realize the church was okay with your kind mingling with us deviants,” Kate said, nudging my foot under the table.
“Our little secret, yeah?” Gray said, and I just knew the cocky bastard had winked at her.
As I held the menu inches from my face, my hands shook, causing it to rattle in my grip.
“Is your friend alright? I think he’s having a seizure,” Gray said.
With the menu raised like a shield, I mumbled wishes of death at him under my breath.
“Sorry,” Gray said, sounding like he was choking. “Gray Collins.” The shadow of an outstretched hand appeared beneath my menu and I groaned, ignoring him. “Wow. Okay. Well, that’s a reaction.”
“Don’t take it personally,” Kate said. “His ex-girlfriend is here. They had a pretty bad breakup, so he’s been hiding behind that thing all night.”
I was going to kill her. That’s what was going to happen.
“Oh,” Gray said with a chuckle. He reached down and squeezed my shoulder. I wasn’t sure what caused the chill to run down my spine, but I wasn’t amused. “Well, it’s nice to meet you either way. How do you know Kate and Jeff?”
“Sorry, he’s … What was his name again, Jeff?” Kate interjected.
“Roger. He’s Roger.” His voice trailed off as if he was lost in thought. “Barstool! Roger Barstool. He’s … Kate?”
“A guy we picked up on a hookup app. We’re trying to liven up the old love life. You know, expanding our horizons. You two ever think of trying that?”
Gray coughed. “No, I can’t say that we have. Bunny is all the woman that I need.”
Bunny?Bun-bun and Bunny? Dear God. The tragedy of it all.
I grumbled under my breath, trying my best to resist the urge to stab him in the hand with my fork.
“What’s that, big guy?” Kate asked. “Nothing? Good. How about you keep that filthy little mouth shut, then?” I assumed she turned to look at Gray. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s one of his kinks. He likes to be ordered around. I think they call them submissives. I told him I wasn’t sure if I was open to the idea, but he talked me into it. Didn’t you,bitch?”
